Rail joint or chair.



No. 658,528. Patented Sept. 25, |900. E. LANE.

RAIL JOINT 0R CHAIR.

(Application flied July 20 1900;) um Model.)

v 1.-"4/ um n Umts STATES PATENT FFIGE;

EDWIN LANE, OF JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAIL JOINT'OR CHAIR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658,528, dated September 25,1900.

' Application led July 20, 1900. eerial No. 24,296. (No model.)

To all when@ it puny concern:

llc it known that I, EDWIN LANE, a citizen of the United Stat-es, residing at Johnstown, in the county of Cambria and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful lmprovements in Rail Joints or Chairs, of which the following is a specication. y l

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvementsin rail-joints or railwaychairs.

The object of my invention is to provide an im proved chair or joint for con necting'the adjacent ends of railway-rails and supporting them between the ties, the construction of the chair orjointbeing such that the rail may be readily removed from the chair Without separating the same from the ties, the construction being such that provision is made for lateral expansion and contraction without causing undue strain upon the connecting-bolts.

My invention consists in the constructionY and arrangements of the parts,which includes a bar for retaining one of the fish-plates to the base-plate of the chair, the fish-plate which said bar overlies having slots, which `will permit a movement of one of the fishplates and the base-plate, especially laterally,

so that expansion will not tend to loosen the base-plate from the ties.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is avertical section taken through a railway joint or chair constructed in accord and with my improvements. Figs. 2 and 3 are perspective views of the fish-plates, showing the same upon the base; and Fig. et is a perspective View of the base-plate and bar for holding the outer tish-plate in engagement therewith.

A refers to a base-plate which is of sufiicient length to span the space between two ties, and this base-plate has in its longitudinal edges recesses @,throu gh which are passed spikes for connecting the base-plate to the tie. At suitable intervals one side of the base-plate is provided with coun tersunk openings d for the passage of rivets and on the other side with similar openings d2 for the passage of bolts. The base-plate is preferably made up from a piece of sheet metal and may be rolled or otherwise shaped so that it is normally slightly convex transversely on "engaged by the base-flange of the rail, and

the convexity is suicient to prevent sagging ot' this plate between the ties and at the same time allow a slight spring orgiveto the same yduring the passage of a train over the joint.

This construction provides for the lateral eX- pansiou of the base-plate during the passage of a train and prevents said base-plate Sagging, which would have a tendency to loosen or withdraw the spikes,whereas the convexity causes the plate merely to bear against the spikes during the passage of a train. Y

A base-plate constructed as above described maybe considered as a permanent fixture on the way or ties, and in driving the spikes which secure the base-plate to the tie there should be allowance made for lateral expansion, the heads of the spikes holding the baseplate upon the ties.

To the base-plate A, I attach, by means of rivets a', a fish-plate B, and in use this fishplate will engage the inner side of -the rail. As the parts are connected to each-other at the factory, they will be, to allintents and purposes, as if made 'in one piece, except that in practice the fish-plate or angle-iron B will be made of cast metal, while the base-plate is of rolled metal.

C refers to a second angle-iron or {ish-plate, which is secured to the rail D in the usual manner by bolts b, and the outer edge of this fish-plate C is provided at intervals with openended slots or recesses c, through which pass bolts d, the heads of said bolts lying in the countersunk openings a2 of the base-plate A. The bolts d are of sufficient length to extend considerably above the flange of the fish-plate C, and the open-ended recesses or slots c have their Walls positioned at a considerable distance from the bolts, so that the parts may give without being brought in immediate contact with the bolt. The outer chair or joint bar is held in engagement with the base-plate by a bar E, which is shaped on its underside to overlie the ange of a fish-plate C and contact with the base-plate. In order to provide for such construction and ailat bearing for the nuts of the bolts d, the upper edge ot' the bar E is dat and its outer edge is at right an- TOO gles with the top, `While its underside is atV an angle and has a depending portion which. bears upon the base-plate.

To Separate the rail D from the chair or joint, it is only necessary to remove the usual connecting-bolts band the nuts of the bolts d, i which will permit 'the removal, rst, of The' bar E and then of the fish-plate C, which permits the removal of the rail, so that it canbe replaced by another one without getting the parts out of alinement. 1t will also be noted that the connection of the .'sh-plate 0 -witlry The base-plate A is such that there .may be a slight lateral movement Without undue strain upon the .connecting means. l

' Having thus described myinvention, whatI I claimV as new is l 1. In a rail-joint, a`l asep`late shaped so asl to `be normally convex transversely, :a fish-l plate rigidly secured by connecting meansto' the base-plate, in combination with a seo-i oncl lish-plate having open-.ended slots, abarV which is adapted to rest upon `said second: fish-plate and is connected to the base-plate" hase-plate said bar having apertures which .register with the open-endedslots ofthe outer fish-plate, and bolts which pass upwardly throughthebase-plate the open-ended slots and the apertn res in the bar, su bstan tially as shown.

In `testimony whereof I Lhave hereunto set imy 'hand in presence of two subscribing witmesses.

EDWIN LANE.

Witnesses:

PETER A. BARNHART, FRANK PATTERSON. 

